Most hated rolling stock

[Starmill]

I'm not criticising the quality of the interior work, the units I was on were still in very good condition, and Merseyrail deserve credit for that. Just wish they had thought a bit more about seat/window alignment.

We could really do with a photo of what they looked like before the re-seating. I seem to remember that they actually had more seats back then (not that I ever went on one)?

 

[bronzeonion]

We could really do with a photo of what they looked like before the re-seating. I seem to remember that they actually had more seats back then (not that I ever went on one)?

Yeah 3+2 low back seating like the Greater Anglia 315's. Pretty awful but not as bad as the high back versions on 317,318,319... type units!

 

[Manchester77]

Well, I was about to nominate the wretched IEP, but was not sure if we could only vote for a presently existing, rather than a proposed train.

how even...
you're making no sense, you've based that upon what? a few PDFs published by the DfT and you're basing something that doesn't even exist upon that?!

you have no hard evidence. its not even been built so how can you even judge...

eugh people annoy me
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We could really do with a photo of what they looked like before the re-seating. I seem to remember that they actually had more seats back then (not that I ever went on one)?

Yeah 3+2 low back seating like the Greater Anglia 315's. Pretty awful but not as bad as the high back versions on 317,318,319... type units!

something like this?

850429 Class 508 Interior by jhazan99, on Flickr

thats a class 508 but I'd image they were pretty simular


EDIT heres a 507


507001's interior in 2004 by 507009, on Flickr

 

[cambsy]

Travelled on Voyagers quite a lot, and found them to be perfectly comfortable for long distance travel, they are quick, though can't beat the cross country hst, the best refurbished hst a round, the worst is first great western, find the 185 to be fine, though not travel much on them. You cant beat the mk 1 for comfort, the pendolino for a good fast blast round curves, like old and new stock. think the hst is one of the best trains ever, the worst are the pacer family, what utter drivel, should be a storm at sea simulator, felt less discomfort on a ferry in storm at sea, unfortunately can remember when first appeared even in prototype form, did one from Crewe to Holyhead, sheer purgatory, especially as one could bash a 37 and mark ones.

 

[Birdbrain]

They are the most hideously disgusting pieces of sheet it has ever been my misfortunate to travel on. They are the worst trains not only in this country but in any country.

Every component within them appears to have been designed, by some sort of perverted genius, to resonate at a slightly different frequency thus ensuring that even when you get used to one rattle another appears to drive you round the bend. The tables are to small to use to do any work on once more than one other person joins you at a table seat, the airline seats are almost useless for work, or for even sitting in, the phone reception and mobile internet reception is shockingly bad, about 4 of the fleet have WIFI and the cost makes it a rip off, there is almost no provision for refreshments, other than a scabby trolley which tends to have nothing left and only tepid water for a brew, at best. In many of the seats you get a fantastic view of white, rattley, plastic land as you speed about the country. You cant even sit still because the under floor engines vibrate so much the bloody table moves about and they create a terribly invasive and frankly maddening noise.

On the few occasions I have been lucky enough to get a seat I find the seats thin, cramped, uncomfortable, padded by half of yesterdays Times and formed out of a lump of cheap plastic that seems designed to cut the circulation to your legs off after exactly 1 hour, 19 minutes and 42 seconds. The interiors are dark and dingy and seemed to have been designed by a committee of communist, solitary confinement specialising interior decorators. The bloody reservation system is a shambles, they cart about 1st class with 2 people in and they are absolutely useless for long distance travel. That and they smell of cooked excrement. I, for one, have spent my last Friday evening ( or Sunday evening) standing, or more correctly being wedged, for several hours next to a toilet breathing in someone else’s bum fumes having paid XC a kings ransom for the dubious “privilege” of being conveyed by one of their mobile ordure tubes.


I am sure someone will be along shortly to express what a luddite I am, how this is the 21st century railway and that no one travels long distance on them or some other total and utter wibble. I, frankly, don’t care what you think. I travel long distances on them on a regular basis. They are truly, truly terrible, and you are wrong.


So: Seconded Mr Chairman. Any objections? Motion carried. Meeting closed.

Well Said!! They are totally unsuited to the work they are assigned and would get my vote for the worst rolling stock.

 

[LE Greys]

Seconded - plus, uncomfortable, noisy, over-engineered, poor interior design and totally inadequate for intercity journeys. Would ten times rather travel on a Voyager....

To which we can add unpadded, plank-like seats and (if my recollections are anything to go by) air-conditioning that creates an almost total lack of air movement and almost stifles people. The electric version is quieter, but that's about all you can say for it. Am I the only one who goes to Paddington when travelling to Bournemouth to avoid 444s?
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something like this?

850429 Class 508 Interior by jhazan99, on Flickr

thats a class 508 but I'd image they were pretty simular


EDIT heres a 507


507001's interior in 2004 by 507009, on Flickr

Both in fairly good condition compared with our 313s.

 

[Sun Chariot]

This thread should carry a health warning. There I was, laughing away at the comments, when I reached DarloRich's damning verdict on the Voyager. And it unlocked all the dark memories of my torture on VirginSadistic's (as it was then) Swindon-Manchester Voyager, weekly, for two ruddy years.

I'm now huddled in the corner, whimpering quietly and all is see is the 'Toilet Closed' sign

 

[cjmillsnun]

(with apologies to the OP)

Voyagers.

Voyagers. Voyagers. Voyagers. Voyagers. Voyagers.

And you can throw Meridians in there too - whilst they're a better attempt at what Voyagers should have been, the seats cause me severe back pain.

In fact, when travelling from Sheffield to Swansea, you seem to have little choice but to take a Voyager or Meridian, but I invariably alight at Derby to await the slower 170 going southwards. Adds journey time, but I have legroom, mobile signal and I'm otherwise happier.

THIS WITH BELLS ON.

And unlike some people on this thread I like a Mk3 with its original IC70 seating (ie EMT HSTs and the pretendolino)

I know the armrests don't move. But they're at the perfect height for me. The backrest is the right height for me and there's plenty of legroom.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

This thread should carry a health warning. There I was, laughing away at the comments, when I reached DarloRich's damning verdict on the Voyager. And it unlocked all the dark memories of my torture on VirginSadistic's (as it was then) Swindon-Manchester Voyager, weekly, for two ruddy years.

I'm now huddled in the corner, whimpering quietly and all is see is the 'Toilet Closed' sign

*shudders at the memory of the smell of Voyagers*

 

[Blillpers]

The 390, especially when going to Scotland...

 

[bronzeonion]

THIS WITH BELLS ON.

And unlike some people on this thread I like a Mk3 with its original IC70 seating (ie EMT HSTs and the pretendolino)

I know the armrests don't move. But they're at the perfect height for me. The backrest is the right height for me and there's plenty of legroom.
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*shudders at the memory of the smell of Voyagers*

Whats the problem with non moveable armrests anyway? Can't people be bothered to manouvere themselves anymore these days?

 

[RichJF]

The small batch of class 319's that were transferred over from Southern to FCC and have very little refurbishment done to them.

Freezing, squeaky brakes, always break down...but then again I guess they all do that!

 

[Starmill]

The small batch of class 319's that were transferred over from Southern to FCC and have very little refurbishment done to them.

Freezing, squeaky brakes, always break down...but then again I guess they all do that!

Joy of joys. If they come up here I'm moving away.

 

[ainsworth74]

Joy of joys. If they come up here I'm moving away.

Well technically they should be getting a thorough refurbishment beforehand. However with the increasingly tight timelines I'm beginning to think that refurbishment might come to mean a bit of clean and some new paint. Maybe some new seat covers.

 

[Starmill]

Well technically they should be getting a thorough refurbishment beforehand. However with the increasingly tight timelines I'm beginning to think that refurbishment might come to mean a bit of clean and some new paint. Maybe some new seat covers.

There wouldn't be anything new in that would there? Sadly

They better hurry on northwards, or the Pacers will have exhausted our supply of masking tape.

 

[Class83]

I generally don't like anything with 2+3 seating, though it's almost acceptable if used on 10 or 12 car trains into London where making them longer isn't practical. However, on pacers and sprinters it needs ripping out and replacing with 2+2 seating with relatively wide aisles and plenty of hand holds so there are 4 usable seats across all day and the ability to crush load in the morning and evening.

Other than those there is nothing that is inherently awful, most problems result from trains that would be fine if they had more carriages; 185s, 220s, 221s and trains that are used on the wrong routes, primarily mid carriage doors on long distance trains. 170s or 185s are fine on Edinburgh-Glasgow or Manchester-Leeds but not on Manchester-Edinburgh.

 

[cambsy]

Worst stock ever is 140 series units, remember when the first prototypes were running, shocking ride, dreadful interior, find voyager not that bad and fine on long journeys, seats are fine, quick off the mark, best stock is mark 3 and enjoy blast round curves at full tilt on bendy dildo's.

 

[corin paul]

Class 185s and the bloody hard seats, after a hour to Doncaster on one I happy to get off, and the fact they are always cold. I have lots of leg room, nice (6'5") but it's so hard on your bum. Class 153s no leg room but I would pick one of these over a class 185 anyday

 

[sheff'd victoria]

Where id like to stick the class 142 " cattle truck " on the list the Voyagers have pipped them too it , I remember I had to sit 4 hours on one of these from Sheffield Midland to Netwon Abbott, 4hr sitting on a train that smells like a nappy is not what anyone should be subject too

 

[The Ham]

Basicly to be hated it has to be more than one of the following (the more it has the more hated it is):
- bad loo (esp. if it smells)
- hard seats (esp. on longer trips)
- be too short
- be slow
- have a bad ride quality
- be noisy
- be badly maintained
- have narrow seats
- have little legroom
- have badly laid out seats (i.e. 3+2)
- have the wrong door spacings
- be a DMU
- been used in London and now seen as cast offs
- been cast off to someone else and has come back to London
- be a Pacer
- be a Voyager
- not a loco hauled train

Did I miss anything?

 

[chris89]

Don't overall have any myself. Although i do slightly dislike 3 + 2 seating, but seems to be quite popular.

Away from the norm it appears. I rather like Voyagers, must have been on half at least of the Virgin fleet and only once I've had a dodgy toilet smell (More common on Pendo's)

As the journeys i do on them are 3hrs 45min (Wolverhampton - Edinburgh). Yes they can be crowed and some of the seats are not as comfy as others, but overall not bad. But then that is just my experience from using them, on which is normally very busy services.

 

[LE Greys]

Basicly to be hated it has to be more than one of the following (the more it has the more hated it is):
- bad loo (esp. if it smells)
- hard seats (esp. on longer trips)
- be too short
- be slow
- have a bad ride quality
- be noisy
- be badly maintained
- have narrow seats
- have little legroom
- have badly laid out seats (i.e. 3+2)
- have the wrong door spacings
- be a DMU
- been used in London and now seen as cast offs
- been cast off to someone else and has come back to London
- be a Pacer
- be a Voyager
- not a loco hauled train

Did I miss anything?

Be a clapped out relic that has outlived its useful life.

I agree with all the rest.

 

[asylumxl]

Basicly to be hated it has to be more than one of the following (the more it has the more hated it is):
- bad loo (esp. if it smells)
- hard seats (esp. on longer trips)
- be too short
- be slow
- have a bad ride quality
- be noisy
- be badly maintained
- have narrow seats
- have little legroom
- have badly laid out seats (i.e. 3+2)
- have the wrong door spacings
- be a DMU
- been used in London and now seen as cast offs
- been cast off to someone else and has come back to London
- be a Pacer
- be a Voyager
- not a loco hauled train

Did I miss anything?

That leaves...

 

[tsr]

That leaves...

The carriage behind the DVT of a Chiltern loco-hauled train?

About all I can think of.

 

[Harbon 1]

How, they don't have sockets in standard, the seat armrests don't move and the seats are too low. The coaches keep banging in to each other and they keep jerking when accelerating.

That kinda happens on every loco-hauled train....

I personally dislike pacers and voyagers (as if that would be a shock to anyone). I was stuck at Tamworth with trains getting later and later, and my first train was a Leeds service, imagine the size of the smile on my face when there was no headlight on the roof when it came round the corner . I am, always have been and always will be more than happy to wait for the train after if the first one is a voyager or pacer. But pacers now have a special hatred after I waited an extra 30 minutes for a 153 from Lincoln to Doncaster, it failed at Gainsborough, and we were bundled onto the following Pacer to push the failed 153 to Sheffield where it terminated short. :-x still, I only got to Doncaster to do some snowy photos of 91s and HSTs speeding through the station 100 minutes late, just in time for the northern ECML to be closed because of a power failure....

I also take the responsibility for getting train times when I go out with my friends to avoid a Voyager, or try and get a sneaky HST in

As with the IC70 seats, I prefer them only a little more than the Mallard seats, as they make the carriage seem lighter and more spacious, as well as being very comfortable, and having reasonably sized tables

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

Of course the Class 142, why would it not be here? The Class 442 is another contender, it leaves a huge gap at Dorchester South "...between the train and the platform edge" so it forced a switch to Wessex/FGW and their horrendous, overcrowded, slow, uncomfy 150s.

 

[jon91]

But pacers now have a special hatred after I waited an extra 30 minutes for a 153 from Lincoln to Doncaster, it failed at Gainsborough, and we were bundled onto the following Pacer to push the failed 153 to Sheffield where it terminated short. :-x

I was on that 153 too, I felt sorry for the driver having to walk back down the line to place protection in such bad weather. I don't think the 142 would have coped if the dogbox had sat down with anything other than a compressor fault.

 

[asylumxl]

The carriage behind the DVT of a Chiltern loco-hauled train?

All the more seats for people like myself who use trains as a means of transport :P.

 

[Harbon 1]

I was on that 153 too, I felt sorry for the driver having to walk back down the line to place protection in such bad weather. I don't think the 142 would have coped if the dogbox had sat down with anything other than a compressor fault.

Small world! :P

I knew there was something up when it was revving when it stopped

 

[WCML]

Its got to be out of any variant of pacer, 150 or 153. 323s are horrible unless they've just been cleaned too.

150s take the crown though. I'm surprised HSE allow people to travel on 150s without wearing ear defenders. The engine noise is absolutely unbearable. Well, it was on the sorry excuses for trains I have used recently. After less than 10 minutes on these clapped out old boxes I'd already got a headache.
The seating is awful too, theyre just disgusting units that need scrapping asap.

Pacers and 153s have already been slated enough.

323s absolutely stink in the peaks when theyre well loaded, especially when the heating is on. Plus the floors become literally flooded when there is any form of rain. Metros should banned and removed from the trains and all stations on the routes of 323s as they contribute to the stench and filthy nature of these units. The lighting casings inside are filthy aswell, however one unit has been fitted with LED lighting for a while but LM dont seem to be getting their backsides in gear and tarting up the rest of the fleet.

If the 350/1s and 185s had slightly more padded seats and sockets at every seat then they'd be brilliant units. I like the bright and fresh colour scheme of the 350/1s and thundering down the WCML at 110mph having paid a tuppence for the ride is good too.

The 3+2 seating of the /2s needs ripping on some of the units and the rest need confining to the Northampton/MKC/Tring routes whilst the BHM/LIV & CRE/EUS deserve 2+2 at all times.

 

[Harbon 1]

I must be alone in liking the SuperSprinters. They seem adequate enough for the job they do in my experience, and are comfortable (although I have only travelled on one outside of EMT, on my unwanted Yorkshire railtour ), and with the EMT refurbishments (forgetting legroom ) are very nice.

Their engines also make me sleepy, which is nice if you have someone to wake you up when you have to get off